


Diamond Eyes

by Kahnah



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Bird Box!AU, Gen, Post-Apocalypse, and all the fun things that belong to that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 21:53:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6537625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kahnah/pseuds/Kahnah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seeing was forbidden.<br/>Seeing had become a luxury not reserved for them.<br/>Seeing meant death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Diamond Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> I've finished reading the book Bird Box by Josh Malerman and really liked the idea, so I decided to write a little thing.
> 
> Centered on Ray and Michael, trigger words and warning for the usual post apocalyptic stuff but nothing too graphic.

Diamond Eyes

 

Ray's hand felt cold in his as they walked over concrete. Their steps echoed quietly but the stick Michael used as a white cane was louder. The tap tap leading their way.

The rough fabric of his blindfold rubbed where it was stretched over his ear but he had no free hand to scratch himself. He couldn't feel the sun anymore on his skin, so he figured it was evening now. Not that it mattered, they stayed both blind either way.

Seeing was forbidden.

Seeing had become a luxury not reserved for them.

Seeing meant death.

The creatures were waiting for that, for that weakness, for that yearning taking over. They didn't make noises, they didn't have a smell but they were there. Out in the normal world.

They could see, he guessed. They had taken over the world of colors, of blue skies. They had taken over their world and now all that was left for them was to survive.

His stick hit against something metallic and he steared a bit to the left, his side brushing against it. A pole, maybe.

Why was their office so far away from everything?

Back before the creatures, this walk had taken an hour. Fuck, he would have driven here!

But he couldn't drive cars anymore. Not without giving in to the temptation to open his eyes and then he would see them. He would see them and then he would die.

He didn't know why. He didn't know what they were.

But he still heard the screams of those who had seen them in his ear.

He shivered and Ray's hand squeezed his.

“ Talk,” he demanded, his voice high and shaking and Michael licked his lips.

Ray liked to talk, didn't like the silence. No, Ray liked to listen.

“ Okay,” Michael began and wondered what he should say. He would rather listen to his stick but Ray was on the brink of panic.

Ray always seemed on the brink of panic since they had left the office around noon. Michael would be as well but he was the one leading and no matter how hard his heart was pounding, he couldn't lose his head.

“ We should reach the market district soon,” he said because that was on his mind. That was what he hoped. The few miles had stretched for forever. He wanted it to be true.

“ We could go for Starbucks. It's on me.”

Ray didn't answer, Ray wanted him to continue talking but he was exhausted himself. This was also the first time he had moved this far away from the office, at least since they had holed up there.

How long had that been?

Weeks. Months.

Not a year, not yet.

Geoff had said their supplies would be enough for two months but then Geoff and Jack had gone out. Had walked this way here together and had returned three days later.

New food, canned fruit. And apples. God, Michael had never had anything as tasty as that apple. An apple for each of them.

Even now the memory made his mouth water.

Apples. Fruits.

Something different than beans.

Ray and Jack had thought about planting the seeds. Gavin had laughed at them.

Michael was pretty sure they had done it anyway.

He wondered what had happened to them.

He asked Ray but Ray decided not to answer, just wanted to hear his voice. That was understandable, sometimes it was just good to know that they were still together.

First he had thought about taking this way alone. He hadn't want to, by God he really hadn't. It was scary, even though scary wasn't the right word.

Scary could be a game or a movie.

This here was pure survival and he had learned what real fear was. It was clinging to them, drenching them and they couldn't get rid of it anymore.

But they needed food.

They would starve otherwise.

The new food Geoff and Jack had brought was supposed to last for six weeks but it had lasted longer. When there had only been four mouths left to feed, then three and now... now only the both of them.

Michael had to go. He had to get food or he and Ray would die. They were hungry as it was, had waited long enough and in the end the fear of himself had forced him to make this move.

He knew that there was a dead body in the office. He had thought about it, if there was no other way-

Again his stomach twisted at the thought and he took a deep breath. It smelled sweet here. Like rotten vegetables.

It smelled like that everywhere now.

When he had told Ray that he would go, Ray had begged him not to do it. As if they had a choice. Sometimes he loved it when Ray acted like they had a choice.

This time it had only been frustrating.

They didn't have a choice in that matter. The only choice there was, was to survive or die and they had chosen that months ago.

So Ray had joined him.

It was better than being alone and they just had to close their eyes. They just had to stay on the road and keep the blindfolds on. Nothing would hurt them.

He slammed against something and lifted both of his arms to catch himself on the thing. A car, he realized as his palms slipped over the metal, still warm from the sun. He must have hit the side mirror and fuck, he had let the stick go. He could hear it roll over the ground not too far away but he couldn't move for a moment.

His heart was beating violently and he wasn’t holding Ray's hand anymore.

In that second he was absolutely alone in this world.

“ Michael?” Ray asked quietly, somewhere behind him. He could hear how he inched forward, his shoes scraping over the asphalt. “Are you hurt?”

“ No,” he said and felt Ray's fingers brush over his back. They found his arm and clung to him. “Just hit a car. It surprised me.”

He reached out with his foot, trying to find the stick and Ray breathed heavy in his ear, his whole body plastered against his backpack. He could feel him shake.

Michael hit the stick and it rolled a bit. Stepping away from the car, he crouched down and let his hands wander over the ground.

It had to be here somewhere and soon enough he felt the wood against his fingers. Picking his stick up, he reached for Ray behind him and the other took his hand a bit reluctantly. 

“Ready to go on?” Michael asked.

“Wait.”

Ray didn’t feel like he was moving, he just stood there and Michael wondered if he was preparing himself. “Ra-”   
“You hear that?”

His mouth fell shut and he listened. Wind between the houses around them, both of their breathing and a few lost birds still chirping. No, wait-  _ growling. _

It was really low, he could barely hear it but now that he concentrated on it it seemed horribly close. For a second he was sure it were the creatures.

People said they didn’t make any noises but how could they be sure? How could they ever be sure anymore. It seemed like they were the only ones around anymore.

The growling got louder and then claws scratching over the asphalt. Whatever it was, it sounded like it was crawling from underneath something. Another car, maybe?

“Dog,” Ray whispered and his hand squeezed so hard that Michael winced. They turned towards the noise and yeah, it was a dog. Maybe it would just leave, run away from them but Michael knew that those creatures also affected animals. Twisted their minds and turned them into self destruction. Maybe into aggression.

He wasn’t sure anymore, there had been so many horror stories on the TV and the internet, it was hard to decide what to believe and what not.

The dog barked at them loud enough to make them jump and Michael held the stick in front of them like a weapon. It was a meager defense but all they had as he pushed Ray back, trying to get some distance between them and the dog.

“Get in the car,” he whispered and Ray let him go. He could still feel him, they were standing back to back as Ray’s hand moved frantically over the smooth door.

Another bark and then the dog charged. He could hear the dull claws move over the ground and swung the stick. He hit nothing but air and quickly brought the stick back down, simply hoping to scare the dog away. There was a yowl as he hit it somehow but it instantly pitched into louder growls.

“Ray!” Michael gasped as something tugged violently at his stick. Oh God, he could hear the wood break beneath the teeth of the dog and he could smell it, it was so close. Unwashed and wild and somehow sick.

The click of the door sounded quiet in all that noise but he was already pushing Ray back, could feel him fall away from him.

The dog was still jerking at his stick, its noises growing more and more aggressive as Michael retreated.

“Come in, come in!” Ray whispered and then his hands were all over him, pulling until his legs hit something. Michael fell backwards onto soft seats and he let the stick go, trying to turn around and reach the door. He had to close it, had to find the handle and make sure that the dog couldn’t follow them but he had to reach out towards the beast. He could hear the stick hit the ground and suddenly there was hot breath against his wrist.

He punched more out of reflex than actually thinking about it. His fist connected with something warm and wet, probably the dog’s snout and he heard the beast yip. Finding the handle with his other hand, he pulled at the door and with a wonderfully satisfied sound it snapped closed.

“Oh God, oh God…” Ray whimpered behind him and Michael could feel him reach up. He snatched the other’s wrist, going for his blindfold and pushed it back down. “Don’t! Leave it on!”   
“I wasn’t going to! I wasn’t, Michael!”

He took a deep breath, noticing the sweet stench in here but before he could think about it, something heavy hit the car. They both screamed as the car rocked and the dog growled close enough to be right next to them. It was on the other side of the door, Michael knew that but right now he wasn’t sure if the window was up or not.

If the other doors were even closed and his breath hitched at the thought. Maybe they weren’t safe in here, maybe all the dog had to do was walk to the other side and jump in.

“Check on the door,” Michael gasped out and felt around. They were on the backseat, alright, and Ray was moving away from him, searching for the other door so he leaned ahead. Bracing himself on the driver seat, he reached out for the other doors and brushed against something. Going back, he found it to be hair, clothes, skin.

Oh God, a dead body. They were in this car with a dead body and now the sweet stench he had noticed before was so much stronger.

He couldn’t tell Ray. He could not tell Ray!

His hand found the door, closed and on the other side as well. Ray clapped loudly and it did sound like a closed space. The noise agitated the dog again but for now they were safe.

Michael let himself fall into the backseat again and reached for his blindfold. Pulling the knot tighter, he pushed his fists against his eyes, trying to stop himself from crying. He wanted to cry, to scream and fight. Instead he pressed his lips together and reminded himself that they were the only two left. That they needed food, that he had to keep calm in order to keep Ray calm.

But Jesus Christ, there was a corpse decaying within arms reach and a dog just waiting for them to step back out.

“Michael?” Ray asked shyly and he swallowed. It sounded loud in the closed space.

“Fine,” he croaked, his voice betraying him. “We are safe in here, Ray. Keep your blindfold on.”   
“I will,” the other promised and still Michael couldn’t help but reach out and control it. Good, still as tight as it should be. Taking a deep breath, he tasted decay on his tongue and it seemed impossible that Ray hadn’t already figured it out. Still he decided not to say a thing because maybe they could pretend it was something else.

“What now?” Ray asked and Michael could hear him move around. “What if we have to pee?”

“Do you?”   
“No, just thinking. Don’t want my dick munched off by a dog.”

“Would be a shame, indeed.” Letting his hands fall into his lap, Michael let the backpack slide from his shoulder. “You got an idea what time it is?”

“The sun was setting but it wasn’t cold yet. Late evening, I guess? Do you want to spent the night here?”   
He did not, not with a dead body right next to them but he was tired and he could still hear the dog moving around. Also there was also a dead body in the office, right? And just because Ryan had locked the door, didn’t change the fact that it was there.

Michael had wanted to bury him but Ryan had been persistent to not stepped inside, so he hadn’t. Ryan had been the only one inside.

Ryan had been the one who left them.

They had woken up one day and the three of them had become two. Ryan had taken Gavin’s camcorder and the keys and no food whatsoever and had vanished in the night.

Michael doubted that he was still alive. He hadn’t been before, he had seen it in his eyes after he’d stepped out of Gavin’s office. Whatever he had locked in there was better left unseen.

“Michael?”

“Yeah,” he finally said. “Let’s sleep in here. I think we’re safe.”

Ray sighed relieved and his feet bumped into Michael’s side as he apparently got comfortable on the seats. He himself followed a few moments later, tangling their legs.

“Keep your blindfold on,” he reminded him before leaning his head against the side of the car. It felt good to sit. The trip hadn’t been that far, something they could have done in maybe an hour if they had been able to see but the unknown was messing with him.

Messing with both of them, he knew that. A part of him wanted to know what those creatures were, how they looked like and why they drove humans insane.

Ryan had used big words to explain, had theories over theories. The one that haunted Michael’s mind to this day was the endlessness.

Maybe those creatures were endless, like the universe. Humans couldn’t understand the universe, right? They pretended they could but it just went on and on and no brain would ever be able to grasp it.

Maybe seeing those creatures, seeing the endlessness… maybe it was simply too much.

It was a good enough guess.

Michael always imagined them like a cloud or a haze, maybe. No smell, no body just…  _ something. _ And they didn’t know how big those creatures were. They could be gigantic, they could be as small as grains of dust.

There could be five sitting in the car, sharing it with them and that dead body. No way to know.

He must have dozed off because he startled awake by the dog again. It didn’t sound aggressive anymore, no more barking or jumping against the car. It was yipping, whining as if it was in pain or scared.

The sound came from right outside his door and he had heard similar thing, way worse things. Losing a mind made devil’s music.

Reaching up, he felt for his blindfold and made sure it sat tight and now he could hear Ray shift.

“Blindfold,” Michael whispered, scared the creature outside would be able to hear but Ray didn’t answer. He scooted closer and he let him settle between his legs so that he could nuzzle against his chest. 

Quietly they listened to the last noises the dog would make before it maybe started to eat itself or just ram it’s head against a brick wall. It would find a way sooner or later and Michael began to cry.

He cried really quietly because there was a creature outside and maybe also inside of here. Maybe it was everywhere, shifting through buildings and mountains and into this car. Maybe it was staring down at them, amused by their struggle and planned to toy with them.

He was tired but Ray was warm against him and he reached down, making sure the other had his blindfold still on. Wrapping his arms around the lean form, he felt a bit better because this was familiar.

They had found a tent in the props room and had put it in their office. Another wall of security, a box in a box and inside it maybe was safe. They had filled it with pillows and blankets, had build a real nest and each night they would lay there, wrapped around each other. 

Trying not to listen too close, trying not to think about the body so close and trying not to wait anymore for the others.

It was nearly peaceful.

And if Michael was honest, if for once he dared to face the facts, he knew that this trip was dangerous. Was beyond dangerous but it was just a question about dying in the office or dying out here while trying to survive.

Yes, they were careful but Geoff and Jack had been as well. Geoff and Jack had known the streets and the corners and the shops and still they hadn’t returned.

For all he knew, it could be one of them sitting behind the steering wheel. Maybe they had tripped over one of their bodies on the way.

Michael began to cry harder because now that he remembered those two, he also remembered all those wonderful ideas Gavin and Ryan had. Remembered Gavin saying they should watch the world through a video camera like in a found footage movie.

Maybe that was the right way, maybe they just had to look at those creatures through some kind of barrier of stained glass or filter. Maybe a recording?

Gavin had done it.

Gavin had put his camera out for a few hours, simply recording the parking lot and then he had watched the footage. He had locked himself into his office and had watched it and then he had started to scream. For hours and hours, and they couldn’t help. They couldn’t storm in without daring to see it as well. 

The screams had turned into a wet gurgle, like he was choking on his own blood before stopping.

A day later Ryan had checked on him.

Ten days later Ryan had vanished.

Now Michael was crying, thinking back to them, and Ray was also crying as they clung to each other.

The dog went quiet and the creature moved on.

**Author's Note:**

> If you guys liked the AU be sure to check out the book Bird Box by Josh Malerman! I really enjoyed it and it was well creepy and explored the idea of invisible creature way deeper!


End file.
